When Your Injured Family Member Must Go to an Arizona Healthcare Facility

Injuries on the job can lead to more problems than just filing claims and having a doctor supervise one’s recovery process. While we typically think of recovery time as spent at home, severe injuries may put that employee under the care of a healthcare facility.

Today’s families are usually working one to two jobs to make ends meet, leaving little time for a family member or close friend to spend significant time in taking care of an incapacitated patient. The only other option is to put the injured person into a healthcare facility. Yet, doing so has its own set of problems.

Typical worries are whether the employees will take good care of the patient, such as feeding them properly, keeping the person clean and comfortable, as well as safe from falls or other accidents. Accordingly, it is important to visit the patient as often as possible to give comfort and brighten that person’s day.

When You or a Loved One Needs Specialized Care

It is one of our worse nightmares to think about having to move to a health care facility, even if it is temporary. The loss of familiar companionship and surroundings can take a toll on an injured person, particularly if there was head trauma that came out of a terrible accident at work.

Confusion and fear of being in unfamiliar surroundings add to the injured person’s daily stress which can wear down immune systems and hamper recovery. Patients become more susceptible to illnesses caused by the healthcare facility environment, particularly when it is not kept as clean as it should be.

Selecting a Good Healthcare Facility

A doctor who is overseeing your recovery, or that of your injured family member, can recommend a few places to look at as a starting point. Always visit the place to see how employees work with patients and get a sense of how the facility is run. Here are pointers to remember.

• Is the facility clean (no urine smells) and cheerful and is there a protected outdoor courtyard where patients can be taken to get fresh air?
• Assess the demeanor of the employees and whether they seem attentive to the patients.
• Check out reviews online from other family members and check the state ratings for the facility, such as licensing and certifications. Also, check with the state on the regularity of inspections by the Department of Health Services and Adult Protective Services.
• If you do put your loved one in a facility, know exactly who is working with your family member and check out the background of that worker(s).
• Find out from an attorney if you can legally install video monitoring so you can see what is happening to your loved one. Make unplanned visits to the facility to ensure that proper care is always ongoing, not just when the facility knows you will show up.

It is a sad situation to be in, but you cannot be too careful, as situations do happen when the wrong employee is hired at a health care facility. Once recent case concerned a female incapacitated patient who gave birth at a Hacienda HealthCare facility. This case, along with others, has prompted Arizona Governor Doug Ducey to recently sign a bill into law that establishes new safeguards for vulnerable children and adults.

Arizona SB 1211

The link above will take you to a copy of the bill recently passed which addresses several situations for both vulnerable children and adults. All Arizona healthcare facilities must also be licensed and certified by January 1, 2020.

If you need help with your claim or that of an incapacitated worker, call us at once for a consultation. 602-346-9009.